Ohio State Football: Archie Griffin Honored With Statue At Ohio Stadium

welcome to Buckeyes tomorrow morning for Saturday August 31st I'm your host Tom Moore the akan game is today yes this season finally here in Columbus Ohio the game against Michigan well that's still 13 weeks away 91 days till the game against Michigan on yesterday's show we previewed today's game against the akan Zips with Kevin noon of pyle.com you want to check out that if in case you missed it that's where that is normally on Saturdays during the season we maybe a look at sort of the national games to watch or something like that not doing that today today is a very different and very special day in the city of Columbus Ohio and on the campus of Ohio State University today's the day when Ohio state is honoring Archie Griffin the only two-time Heisman winner in the history of the sport will be dotting the eye of script Ohio at halftime he also got quite an honor on Friday afternoon Ohio State unveiled a brand new Statue of Archie Griffin he got one at the Rose Bowl a few weeks back now he has one at the North rotunda at Ohio stadium as well if you're going to the game on a little later on today well go ahead and check that out right at the North rotunda underneath the blue and yellow flowers up there you know where we're talking about right near the right near the Jesse Owens Memorial sort of on the Woody Hayes Drive side of the stadium so if you're going there make sure you check that out that did a really nice job with that statue so you can check that out there on Friday there was a special ceremony on honoring Archie Griffin and unveiling that statue officially so let's start with a couple of the speakers from that event Ryan Day made a brief appearance there and it's a Friday before a Saturday game the first game of the season so it takes something kind of notable to get a coach to slip away from campus for a few minutes but day definitely felt this was worth worth a brief stop over at the stadium to honor the legacy of the only two-time Heisman Trophy winner in the history of the sport here's ran day and his thoughts on Archie Griffin on behalf of the entire Ohio State football program I just I stepped away for a second we can get back with the team we got a big kickoff tomorrow 3:30 to start a great season but I wanted to make sure I came over and said thank you to Archie and thank you to the family thank you for the impact that you've made on the field they've been playing college football a long time there's only one two-time has been Trophy winner he's sitting right here but more importantly it's the impact you've made off the field I didn't have an opportunity to see you play I've seen the film and you look fast and you look powerful but I have seen the impact that you've made off the field and your family's made off the field and it's tremendous and it set an unbelievable example to our players about the impact you've made in the community the Charities it's been unbelievable and so to see the statue being unveiled today is a great representation of the Legacy that you've left and you'll continue to lead as we move forward and so thanks for for both of those things and you've done it with unmatched class when I think Archie Griffin that's what I think about unmatched class so thank you Archie go [Music] box next up is Ohio State athletic director Ross Bor he also had a lot of nice things to say about Archie Griffin one thing you find as you live around Columbus is everyone seems to have nice things to say about Archie Griffin that was definitely the case Friday at the Horseshoe as well here's Ross Bor with his thoughts on Archie's Legacy Archie has never met a stranger he talks to everybody think about culture Arie defines what being a buckeye means he has a scholarship fund that doesn't benefit football student athletes it benefits other athletes in our Athletic program he's about Excellence Archie and I had lunch about a month ago and he told me a story that during the off season in the NFL he actually went to work not not to make a little extra money I'm sure that probably helped but but he went to work to build his resume for Life After football so we think about Excellence we think about public trust Archie was born here at Ohio State he's Ohio born and bred and so Archie is the people he's the culture he's the Excellence the Ohio native the definition of a buckeye so it's easy to to read the stats and the accolades and those things are nice but what I've learned is that anyone who's ever interacted with Archie they walk away not saying he's a great great football player but that he's a great man and they remember absolutely let's do [Music] [Applause] that and they they remember how Archie made them feel and that's I think what Legacy is all about so the Woody hay quote right Archie was a great football player but he was an even better man right and so we we understand that and that's really the essence of greatness in Legacy and finally going to let you hear directly from the man of the hour himself Archie Griffin gave a very nice speech I think you guys are going to enjoy this one was really nice to see Not only was he surrounded by all sorts of family and friends he had a ton of teammates there as well from his Ohio State years as well as his East Mo Academy years of course he played High School football on the east side of Columbus at eastm Academy plenty of his teammates from the old high school team were there as well as a few a number of Buckeye teammates as well so here is Archie Griffin with with his thoughts on the unveiling of the statue what a incredible day this is for me it is truly one of the great privileges of my life to be here in my hometown for this occasion I'd like to especially thank uh my wife Bonita for being with me today by my side as well as the other members of the Griffin family who are here why don't you all stand so they can see [Music] you thank you all for being here appreciate that I would also like to thank President Carter Athletics director Ross Bor rosebowl Legacy Foundation president deedon brino for their kind words today greatly appreciate that and I also want to say thank you to en cob Insurance who played a key role in making this time a reality thank you all so very much as I stand today in the shadow of Ohio stadium thinking about what brought me here today foremost in my mind are three people who left us a long time ago by that I mean my parents James and Margaret Griffin as well as my great mentor and Coach Woody Hayes I think about all three of them every single day growing up my parents laid a foundation for my success with their strong moral values enduring spiritual faith and dedicated work ethic work hard in all you do trust in God and treat others as you want to be treated I grew up in a family with seven siblings and we learned these lessons from our parents' words but also from their actions I think about my father working three jobs to put food on our table teaching me a powerful lesson about hard work by the simple eloquence of his example I think about my mother running our small family grocery store teaching me about Community as she extended credit to neighbors who needed something to eat knowing that she might not get repaid when I came to Ohio State and began to play for Woody Hayes the life lessons about hard work and faith and working together as part of a community for a greater good began a new Woody taught us all about the importance of paying forward he would say you can never pay back those who have helped you but you can always you can always pay forward to the next Generation but he also taught us so many lessons about the value and importance of teamwork how you must hold each other accountable for your responsibilities about how you must sacrifice a piece of yourself to be a part of a greater good about how you must trust other people to do their job as you do your job to help the team win as we dedicate this stat you today I want everyone here to know that you're not only honoring me today but instead recognizing the teams that I played on during my 4 years at the Ohio State University you're honoring my teammates during those four years some of who are in this crowd today and if you've played for me with me at Ohio State University during my four years I would like you all to please stand and be [Applause] recognized thank you guys for being here with me I wanted them to be recognized because these are the guys who 50 years ago did their jobs exceptionally well they opened the holes and carried out the play fakes that allowed me to run for two Heisman Trophies I hope when people see this statue they think about the great teams we had had the four years I played and not just the guy who wore number 45 who got too much credit I was just blessed as you've heard me say before I was just blessed to be in the right place at the right time with the right people to accomplish what I did I also have some other teammates here today who did their job to help pave my way to Ohio State where are my eastmore Warriors Stand Up Guys [Music] I really love that uh you were able to be here today as well thank you for coming across all my experiences in athletics this deep and abiding notion that teamwork is at the core of how we accomplish great things in life has made me who I am now there is one last group that I has stood uh strong for me that I want to honor right now and that is the fans of Buckeye Nation you see I always felt like winning the Heisman at Ohio State men it belonged as much to you as it did to me and I want you to really know how much I appreciate the conversations the meals and moments that we've shared I appreciate that you still remember me 50 years later 50 years is a long time so I really appreciate you remembering me that long I please understand that I was just a slot footed chubby little kid right here from Columbus Ohio who they once called tank because I was so slow running around Maryland Park when I played for the Maryland AC's the first organized football team that I played for but you've shown me the greatest affection when I became number 45 and and that love from Buckey everywhere has meant the absolute world to me this statue this statue will stand outside Ohio stadium for as long as they play football here and I want you to know that I love the idea that Buckeye fans might stop by to visit before a game or talk to Future generations of Buckeyes about the great teams that I played on I'm just really so honored when I think about how I can now stay connected to the hands of Ohio State forever thank [Music] you and and so Buckeye Nation one final time I want them to hear you back on the near east side where I played Little League football and across the freeway in Lyndon where I went to lindmore Junior High School and even on the far East Side at eastmore high school I want them to hear you all across the city of Columbus OH oh H oh H thank you all so very much and God bless each and every one of you and if you missed Archie Griffin on Friday you will have another chance to see him doing something maybe even more remarkable a little more special I don't know quite an honor either way dotting the eye in script Ohio that'll happen at halftime of the akan game we will be there for that we will be there for the football that happens before and after that as well but guys and Acron Zips kick off at 3:30 on Saturday inside Ohio stadium you watch that game on CBS you can listen to it on the Ohio State football radio network of course you can find all sorts of detailed coverage about it at Bucky huddle.com should have a very active game thread on our huddleboard presented BR Jeff Ruby Steakhouse we will have pregame coverage we will have postgame coverage our live postgame show will start right at the end of the game make sure you are subscribed to our you YouTube channel we tell you that all year long never more important than now heading into the season going to have live postgame coverage interviews analysis here live from Ohio State head coach Ryan day probably some coordinators will Howard bunch of Ohio State players we have live and taped interviews with those guys probably let you hear from the opposing coach as well there's always a lot to talk about and then of course instant analysis breakdown what we saw what we heard what we learned that's all after the game at youtube.com/ buuck huddle make sure you're subscribed make sure you hit that Bell so you don't miss a thing that'll do it for today thank you guys all for joining us have a great day enjoy the football we've waited long enough the season is finally here we'll talk to you tomorrow